[Mictlan]

The answer: YES!!!!!

This are going to be the rules for the OC SETI Team logo to be used in the case badges:
[list=1][*]Size = 1 inch x 1 inch[*]No more than 5 colors[*]As a test, must look good when you print it in 400 dpi at 1"X1"[*]Should have the "overclockers" and "SETI" words or any of their variations.[/list=1]

So far so good.....I think that would be enough rules. Now a quick and dirty explanation of why I need them to be 5 colors or less. If anyone is familiar with serigraphy might be able to correct me of what I'm planning to do.

In serigraphy you need to do a negative for each color involved in the printing. Each negative will be mounted in a screen to which each color is applied to the paper. Everytime you change of screen you need to check that its on target. If you misplace one of the screens then you ruin all the process and have to strat again.

For this reason, the cost of printing will be directly proportional to the number of screens needed, as we are talking of a small space (just one inch) then the process becomes a little more complicated if you have to do lot of passes for each sticker.

Remember that we are talking about a 1"x1" stickers. If you design a masterwork with lots of detail, it might get lost when you scale it down to the size we are talking about. What we want is a flashy design, simple and beautiful. Something that would make our cases stand out in the crowd.

The stickers will be printed in a flat and transparent paper (I forgot the name, but it's thinner than the regular self-adhesive paper you can buy at the crafts shops), so try to work with something that take that as an advantage.....

Speed DJ: seems that it's time to post the guidelines as you did the other day with the banner for the new site (it seems that the coding is being done). Can you host the contest?

I have everything here ready for the printing, so as soon as a winner is available I can go and print them quickly. SO far and until I have the logo the price will be $2 per stickers with shipping included (snail mail). With some luck I can trick the printer to drop me $0.25, but need the finalist to try it .

[Lonely Raven]

Well, unless someone comes up with something really
snazzy, I'd be happy with a 5 color version of the Avitar
that so many of us are using that I think TC came up with.

The same one that you are using Mictlan. Just maybe rework
the words a little bit and done deal.

But hell, if we have some talented SETI brothers making some
MAD art, then I'd sure like to see it!

[Cy]

Thanks for the kudos on the avatar Raven. Cy, TC...whatever it takes...

Would work for me but I know it is not in just 4 colors.

If there is anything else to consider feel free to bring it on.

I'll take at least 10...

Cy

[Mictlan]

Sometime ago I was aboutto print 500 stickers with Cy avatar, just crop the Top 10 so anyone would use them

Since that time I have been thinking in a one color design that may be ready sometime soon....sooner if the contest begins.....so to all the SETI brothers and sisters, lets try to have a good contest and see what can be done.

[SpeeDj]

I will post something up to start on friday and yes I will host the images and what not for the contest, the site seems to be moving towards frames I gather.

J

[TC]

I didn't come up with anything LOL - I believe Cy did the radio dish one...

[Morpheus]

Mictlan...

If it is a standard printer, they are set up for CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow & black) four color process can render ANY color... so, there is really no limit to colors then, as with those four you can make anything (standard printing separations)...

It will be important, too, for whoever is doing the grahpics work (on the team) to have their monitor calibrated and set correctly to abient light levels for closest color matching...

just my 2 cents...

[Mictlan]

I really don't know if the use a printer to produce the stickers. So far the printing presses are still using the old fashioned serigraphy process. As I told above this technique is like follows:

Once you have the item to be printed, you decompose it to its colors. Nowadays they are using the computer to do this. In photoshop you can do this easily with a photograph. So for every color to be used obtain a print out. This one is the applied to a special paper to create a screen. So far to what I know this paper only allows the ink to pass in the parts that are etched, just like an old printing press.

In the end you will have a set of screens that will in conjuction create the original image. I have done it the past (A friend of my stepfather use to do t-shirts with it), and used a very entry level machine (called an octopus) to do the print out.

You put the paper in the bottom, then you put over it the screen and do a pass with the ink. You change to the next screen. Aplly ink.....so on until you have applied all the inks. To my knoledge this can automated to decrease the costa whole lot.

This is the most cost efective way to produce high quantities of printed materials, specially for images (like stickers, posters, t-shirts) as the screens virtually last forever and you only have to do it once for each image you wanted to create. And if you want to change colors, it's very easy: you just change the ink.